Connaught Tunnel
Encyclopedia
- For the Connaught tunnel in East London, England, see Eastern Counties and Thames Junction RailwayEastern Counties and Thames Junction RailwayThe Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway in east London connected the Royal Docks with the Eastern Counties Railway . Authorised in 1844, it opened in 1846, and was absorbed by the ECR in 1847...
Connaught Tunnel, in the Selkirk Mountains
Selkirk Mountains
The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 km north from the border. The range is bounded on its west,...
under Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway. The pass is a shortcut across the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east...
on the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
main line between Calgary, Alberta, and Revelstoke, British Columbia
Revelstoke, British Columbia
Revelstoke is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just south of the Revelstoke Dam and near its confluence with the Illecillewaet River...
, at 5.022 miles (8.1 km) long was, at the time it was built, the longest railway tunnel in North America. Dug under Mount Macdonald
Mount Macdonald
Mount Macdonald is a mountain peak located in the Selkirk mountains of British Columbia, Canada, immediately to the east of Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park. It is notable as the location of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Connaught and Mount Macdonald Tunnels. At 14.7 km, the Mount...
(9492 feet or 2,893.2 m) to ease growing traffic experienced between 1910 and 1913, it replaced the dangerous Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway. The pass is a shortcut across the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east...
route. It was named for the Governor General of Canada, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught.
Announced in February 1913, the contract was awarded on July 1, 1913, to Foley Bros. Welch and Stewart. A small tunnel was built, from which cross cuts were made to the main tunnel so work could carry on at a number of headings. The sub-contractor guaranteed to drill 900 feet (274.3 m) of tunnel per month and started on April 2, 1914. Compressed air equipment and narrow gauge locomotives were used inside the tunnel. The company town housed some 300 workers. The tunnel was completed before the original deadline, with operation beginning December 16, 1916. It had a grade of only 0.95 per cent westward, and was tangent; light at one end can be seen at the other, more than five miles away.
It cost $5.5 million, while a further $3 million were spent on track revision, which saw 14.5 miles (23.3 km) abandoned including the Loops and over 4 miles (6.4 km) of snow shed
Snow shed
An avalanche snow bridge or simply snow bridge is a type of rigid snow-supporting structure for avalanche control . Avalanche bridges can be made of steel, prestressed concrete frames, or timber....
s. In all, the route was shortened by 4.3 miles (6.9 km).
Problems were encountered with ventilation, loose rocks and wet rails, which caused trains to stall. The tunnel was later lined with reinforced concrete and equipped with a better ventilation system. Originally double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
ed, it was realigned with a single track in 1959 to accommodate higher freight cars.
In the late 1980s, the Mount Macdonald Tunnel
Mount Macdonald Tunnel
The Mount Macdonald Tunnel, located in the vicinity of Rogers Pass in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, is a railway tunnel constructed through Mount Macdonald by the Canadian Pacific Railway ....
was built to supplement the Connaught Tunnel and to lessen the grade on the eastern approach to the pass. Trains now predominantly travel east through the Connaught Tunnel and west through the Mount Macdonald Tunnel.
See also
The Spiral Tunnels (which in 1909 eliminated the dangerous Big HillBig Hill
The Big Hill on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line in British Columbia, Canada, was the most difficult piece of railway track on the Canadian Pacific Railway's route. It was situated in the rugged Canadian Rockies west of the Continental Divide and Kicking Horse Pass...
), Field Hill
Field Hill
Field Hill is a steep portion of the mainline of the Canadian Pacific Railway located near Field, British Columbia. Field was created solely to accommodate the Canadian Pacific Railway's need for additional locomotives to be added to trains about to tackle both Field Hill, and the Big Hill. Here a...
, Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway. The pass is a shortcut across the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east...
and the Mount Macdonald Tunnel
Mount Macdonald Tunnel
The Mount Macdonald Tunnel, located in the vicinity of Rogers Pass in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, is a railway tunnel constructed through Mount Macdonald by the Canadian Pacific Railway ....
and its associated grade reductions are other significant features in the mountain history of the CPR.